Nokia Siemens is to implement the first GSM-based rail communication system in Australia with an upgrade of the Victorian urban rail network’s existing analog system in a contract valued at more than $150 million.

The two companies claim installation of the digital system will ensure better communication during routine and emergency situations, enabling safer travel.

The head of Nokia Siemens Networks, Australia and New Zealand, Paul Tyler, said the project had come as a result of a long campaign in having GSM-R accepted as the preferred Australian standard of future train radio systems and the company was to be part of what he called “the ongoing modernisation and upgrade of Melbourne’s rail system.”

According to Tyler, GSM-R is the most advanced digital train radio technology standard and offers a wide range of benefits, including secure digital voice communications and data capability based on GPRS and EDGE, which enables improved coverage and higher reliability and availability.

“Unlike the standard mobile phone network of telecommunication carriers, GSM-R was developed to support the high safety standards and specific operational requirements of railways. GSM-R can help railway operators reduce costs by replacing multiple analog systems with a single streamlined digital system, and meet the increased signalling, safety and security demands of rail travel.”

Tyler said Nokia Siemens Networks was one of the inventors of the GSM-R technology, with Siemens researching and creating the GSM-R standard in the early 1990s.